IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 440 

Calling for urgent international action on behalf of Iraqi and Syrian civilians 

facing a dire humanitarian crisis and severe persecution because of 

their faith or ethnicity in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq and Khabor, 

Kobane, and Aleppo regions of Syria. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 

Mr. TROTT (for himself, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. DOLD, Mr. 

BENISHEK, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. VARGAS, and Mr. DENHAM) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for urgent international action on behalf of Iraqi 

and Syrian civilians facing a dire humanitarian crisis 

and severe persecution because of their faith or ethnicity 

in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq and Khabor, Kobane, 

and Aleppo regions of Syria. 

Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated in its Global Trends report that in 2014, the 

total population of concern in Iraq and Syria numbered 

nearly 12,000,000 people, including refugees and internally displaced persons, many of whom face grave deprivation and imminent threats to life, health, and safety; 


ebenthall on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 440 IH 

Whereas recent extremist attacks on civilians in Hassake, 

Syria, and the Nineveh Plains have exacerbated the serious dislocations and pressures facing individuals within 

this population of concern, and have had a particularly 

severe effect on ethnic and religious minority communities such as Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians, Armenians, Yezidis, Shabak and other minorities in the region, where civilians require immediate and urgent access 

to potable water, health care, fuel, electricity, and basic 

security; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council stated on July 

22, 2014, ‘‘The members of the Security Council further 

recall that widespread or systematic attacks directed 

against any civilian populations because of their ethnic 

background, religious beliefs or faith may constitute a 

crime against humanity, for which those responsible must 

be held accountable’’, and denounced the persecution of 

Iraqi Christians and other minorities, including Yezidis 

and Mandeans; 

Whereas many of the Christian communities of the Khabor 

region of Syria fled Simele, Iraq, in 1933 as a result of 

a massacre of over 3,000 Assyrians, and were resettled 

along the Khabor River in Syria, and have once again 

been forced to flee due to violent persecution; 

Whereas, on July 14, 2014, the United Nations Security 

Council adopted Resolution 2165, which provides guidance for urgent action in Iraq, as it addresses similarly 

grave humanitarian needs in neighboring Syria; 

Whereas the Syriac Military Council along with the Kurds 

have provided security for the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac 

Christians in the greater Hassake region of Syria and reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Sep 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR440.IH HR440

ebenthall on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 440 IH 

quire immediate assistance to continue combating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; 

Whereas villages in the Khabor region have been planted with 

IEDs to discourage repatriation by ethnic minorities who 

previously resided therein; 

Whereas grotesque acts of violence have been committed 

against the ancient Yezidi population, including killings, 

torture, and selling women and girls into sexual slavery; 

and 

Whereas the grave humanitarian crisis facing ethno-religious 

minorities in Iraq and Syria will have serious consequences for the broader stability of those countries and 

other nations in the region: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) deplores and condemns the religious bigotry, 

3 intimidation, and violent attacks directed against in4 nocent civilians, as well as the vandalism and de5 struction of property and ancient sites, by armed ex6 tremists in Iraq and Syria; 

7 (2) calls on the relevant parties to protect all 

8 citizens in the region, and recognizes the responsi9 bility of the relevant governments to uphold the con10 stitutional rights of their own citizens; 

11 (3) calls on the President, Secretary of State, 

12 and United States Permanent Representative to the 

13 United Nations, working through the United Na14 tions Security Council and its member states as ap15 propriate to accelerate the implementation of an imVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Sep 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR440.IH HR440

ebenthall on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 440 IH 

1 mediate, coordinated, and sustained response to pro2 vide humanitarian assistance, protect civilians, build 

3 resilience, and help reestablish livelihoods for dis4 placed and persecuted persons in their communities 

5 of origin; 

6 (4) calls on the United States Permanent Rep7 resentative to the United Nations to work with the 

8 relevant United Nations agencies, including the 

9 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on 

10 a sustained basis to document human rights abuses 

11 against Iraqi and Syrian refugees and develop an 

12 immediate plan to facilitate safe humanitarian ac13 cess to potable water, health care, fuel, electricity, 

14 and basic security for the most vulnerable refugee 

15 populations; 

16 (5) calls on the relevant United Nations agen17 cies to collaborate and coordinate with international 

18 humanitarian organizations working in Iraq and 

19 Syria— 

20 (A) to develop an effective resettlement 

21 strategy for displaced and persecuted popu22 lations in beleaguered areas, including the an23 cestral villages in the Nineveh Plain, that incor24 porates micro-enterprise activities and business 

25 startup loans for the displaced, builds resilience, 


ebenthall on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 440 IH 

1 and facilitates a transition from emergency re2 lief to longer-term economic development in 

3 communities of origin; and 

4 (B) to develop transparent, accountable 

5 mechanisms to ensure that assistance reaches 

6 vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities and is 

7 not diverted; and 

8 (6) calls on the Secretary of State and the Sec9 retary of Defense— 

10 (A) to support the training and equipping 

11 of vetted local Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Chris12 tians security forces in Iraq and Syria; and 

13 (B) to work to ensure that minority com14 munities in Iraq and Syria are fully integrated 

15 into any future security forces in Iraq and 

16 Syria. 

Æ 


ebenthall on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS